


Puzzle Pieces, You and Me

by larrymylove



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, Fluff, Jigsaw Puzzles, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8813908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrymylove/pseuds/larrymylove
Summary: In which Harry likes to start puzzles, and Louis likes to finish them





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have wanted to write something all day, but I struggled so much. I must have started like four different fics before this came to me and I fell in love with the idea and knew I had to share it with all of you. This is just something short, soft, and sweet because I feel like that's what we could use right now.

Harry sunk into the leather armchair in front of the round table just by the fireplace. It was his favorite spot in the cafe for several reasons. One being the quiet. This little secluded area in the back was the perfect spot for Harry to unwind after the day and just relax. The second being the fireplace. He was still not a seasoned Londoner and the winter temperatures made his bones ache. The fireplace was the perfect little spot to thaw out from the bitter wind and sleet. And lastly, the puzzles.

Harry had noticed one day the small stack of jigsaw puzzles underneath the table. This little table and chair was in the back section of the cafe, separated from the rest of the coffee shop. He had glanced around, knowing the puzzles were probably meant for customers only, but still there was a little tinkling fear that maybe he wasn’t meant to touch. After noticing he was completely alone in his little haven, Harry chose a mountain scene puzzle. The picture on the cover of the dusty cardboard box looked complex to say the least. The scene was of a mountain covered in the same green, orange, yellow, and red trees. There was a waterfall - a small line of white - breaking up the blur of vibrant fall colors. It was a thousand pieces too, and Harry was up for the challenge. He’d had a hard day at work, and this would be the perfect way to unwind. He lifted his latte off the table, setting it on the end table by his armchair, before opening the box and dumping out the pieces.

For as long as he could remember, he’d loved puzzles. As a kid, his grandparents would buy him simple puzzles with chunky wooden pieces that wouldn’t pose a choking hazard for a curious toddler. But Harry had quickly grown bored with those, and they’d quickly started exchanging out the child-safe puzzles, for more complex, adult ones. Harry loved them. He loved the idea of a thousand little pieces making up one big picture. He loved the idea of being the one to put it together, and even with the picture on the box as a guide, it was still a big reveal once the puzzle was complete. It always gave him a sense of accomplishment to finish a puzzle. 

He started with the border first, separating out the edge pieces. The puzzle was old, the pieces dusty and peeling a bit on the corners, but Harry didn’t mind. He continued to sip his latte and slot the little wooden pieces together until the picture began to form. It wasn’t until his phone rang that he realized he’d been so swept up in his own little world. He forgot the puzzle for a moment to answer Liam’s call.

“Where are you?” Liam demanded, “Harry, it’s after eight! You said you’d meet us at seven and we’re worried!”

“Oops,” Harry winced, frowning at the puzzle on the table, “I’m so sorry, Liam! I lost track of time.”

“What? How? You said you’d stop off to get coffee on your way home from work and then would meet us at Paddy’s.”

“I know, I know. Look, I’ll head right over. I’m getting up now. Standing up. Heading out the door. Be there soon,” Harry said, still sitting in his armchair as he slotted in a final piece.

“See you soon,” Liam said, hanging up.

Harry glanced again to the puzzle. He didn’t want to leave it. He’d been working on it for over two hours now. He’d put lots of hard work into the thing, and he didn’t want to just abandon it and leave it unfinished. What if someone were to come along and put it apart back into its box? Or worse….if someone else came along and finished it?

Harry supposed that would just be a risk he’d have to take. After all, he hadn’t meant to worry Liam, and he felt a bit guilty. Shooting a final, mournful look to his puzzle, Harry shrugged his jacket back on and headed out to meet Liam and Niall at Paddy’s. Maybe, with luck, the puzzle would still be there tomorrow.

Luck had a sense of rumor, apparently. Because the next day, Harry found his puzzle exactly where he’d left it, but finished. He didn’t want to be disappointed, he knew that was silly. It was just a puzzle. Besides, he’d left it and anyone was free to come along and finish it. But there was still that niggling sense of disappointment that crawled into the pit of his stomach and laid there. 

Harry sat down in his armchair and sipped his coffee, looking at the completed puzzle on the table. It was pretty, but he’d put so much effort into it last night. It just hadn’t been fair. He’d worked on it for over two hours, and someone had come along and slotted in a few remaining pieces and had finished it. It shouldn’t feel so much like a slap in the face, but it did. 

After a bit of contemplation, Harry decided he’d start a new puzzle - and _finish_ it this time. He sighed a sad sigh as he crumbled up the pieces and swept them back into their box. From under the table, he withdrew another box. This one was five hundred pieces. He’d definitely be able to finish this one. It looked easy enough - kittens in a basket. Harry could do that. He emptied out the box and got to work. He had about a hundred pieces left when his phone rang.

“Harry!” Niall’s voice was desperate on the other end, “You have to come home! Something happened!”

“What? Are you okay? Are you safe?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just….I tried to wash my footie gear in with your new fabric softener but I think I put too much in because there’s suds all over the floor and fuck, H. I’m sorry! But I think I may have wrecked the washer and….”

Harry sighed, stealing a longing glance to his puzzle, “I’ll be right there.”

“Great! Thank you! You’re the best, Harry!”

Harry couldn’t help but smile. Puzzles be damned. Even if Niall was a bit of a moron when it came to laundry, there was no way Harry would just leave him stranded when he’d asked for help. The puzzle would just have to go forgotten. Tomorrow was his day off, and Harry was certain that he could get back to the cafe in time to finish his puzzle before someone else did.

He was wrong.

Apparently, Niall had put almost the whole jug of fabric softener in with the wash, and suds had overflowed all over the floor. It’d taken the two of them hours to mop everything up and dry up the linoleum flooring. And after, as means of apologizing, Niall had bought pizza - his treat - and they had ate pizza and watched Netflix unto well into the night. Harry had overslept, and hadn’t made it to the cafe as early as he’d hoped. It was after noon when he hugged Niall goodbye and made him promise not to do anything else that could possibly leave them homeless like starting a fire. Harry absolutely did not hurry to the cafe to check the status of his puzzle. Because that’d be weird. He merely walked at a brisk pace, okay?

He got up to the counter, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. He was just about to place his order when the person behind the counter said, “Oh, you’re here early!”

Harry glanced up, blinking. The boy who usually served him his coffees after work was there, blinking in surprise. It took Harry a moment to realize the boy was still waiting on him to say something.

“Oh, yes. Um….it’s my day off.”

“Sweet. Well, what can I get for you today? Vanilla latte, the usual?”

Harry blinked again. The boy remembered his order? 

“Uh….yeah. A vanilla latte.”

The boy gave Harry the price and Harry handed over his card for the boy to slide through the register. 

“Alright, we’ll call once it’s ready.”

Harry mingled by the bar where customers collected their drinks. He was usually so worn out from his work that he barely ever noticed the boy behind the counter, eyes too bleary to pay attention to much until he got his caffeine in him. But the boy was pretty. Really, really pretty. He was delicate, but now that he had Harry’s attention, he seemed to command it. Harry couldn’t peel his eyes off him if he tried. He watched the boy prepare his drink, and cursed his damn job for making him so tired to have failed to notice him before.

He’d noticed Harry though, apparently. He’d even remembered Harry’s drink order.

“One vanilla latte,” the boy called out, and Harry went to collect his drink.

“Thanks,” he said to the boy, smiling and hoping his smile conveyed all sorts of apologies for having failed to notice him before.

“Don’t mention it, Curly. Enjoy!”

Harry’s stomach fluttered at the nickname. He took his drink and headed towards the back room. Hed almost completely forgotten about his puzzle until he saw it laying on the table, perfectly finished. 

Harry was typically a patient man. But for some reason, the fact that someone had come along and completed two of his puzzles was annoying him beyond reason. He set his latte down, and huffing, he broke apart the puzzle, put it away, and dug out another box from under the table. This one was wildflowers in a field - a big blur of purples and reds and yellows. Harry was determined this time to finish his puzzle. 

Fate had other plans.

Again, his phone rang just as he had about a hundred pieces left. Harry was about to just let it go to voicemail when he saw it was from Gemma. He sighed and answered.

“Hello?”

“Harry! Babe, I’m so sorry to call you like this on your day off but I really need someone to come over and watch Ellie. The sitter has mono - can you believe? And the backup sitter is out of town with her family til tomorrow. Please, please watch her for me, Harry.”

Harry didn’t even think of saying no, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Thank you, H! You’re the best, you know that, right?”

Harry bit down on his smile, “Thanks, Gems. But you know I’d never mind watching Ellie. See you soon!”

After putting his phone away, Harry glanced to his puzzle. An idea struck. He grabbed one of his napkins and scribble down a quick message. He set the napkin on top of the puzzle and headed out to go watch his niece. He turned to the counter before heading out the door, hoping to catch the boy’s eye and share a smile. But the boy was busy with other customers, and Harry needed to go help Gemma.

\---

“So tell me more about this cute boy at the counter?” Niall grinned, bumping his hip into Harry’s.

“Stop it,” Harry blushed, “You cannot call him cute in front of him.”

“Have you made a move yet?”

“We just started talking yesterday,” Harry shook his head, “I don’t even know why you wanted to come. You hate coffee.”

“I wanted to scope him out,” Niall rubbed his hands together, “See who our little Haz has got a crush on.”

“Oi!” Harry hip-checked him, bumping Niall off the curb.

They headed into the cafe, Harry holding the door open as Niall slipped inside first.

“Oooh, is that him? You’re right, he _is_ pretty!”

“Down boy,” Harry rolled his eyes, “C’mon.” He led them up to the counter and tried not to pay the butterflies in his stomach too much mind.

“Hey you!” Pretty Barista smiled brightly as his blue eyes landed on Harry.

“Hi,” Harry felt the blush on his cheeks, “How are you?”

“Good, good. Looks like you brought a friend with you this time.”

“Yeah. This is my roommate, Niall. Niall, this is….”

“Louis.”

“Louis,” Harry tasted the name on his tongue. It tasted like vanilla lattes and sunshine.

“Alright,” Louis grinned a teasing grin that made Harry’s stomach dip just a tad, “I know Niall now. You gonna give me your name, or will I be forced to call you ‘Curly’ for all eternity?”

“You didn’t even tell him your name?” Niall asked, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

“Harry. It’s Harry.”

“Harry,” Louis smiled at the name, “Alright. One vanilla latte?”

“Yes please.”

“And for your friend?”

“He doesn’t drink coffee.”

“Doesn’t drink coffee?!” Louis was aghast, “Well mate, sounds like you need some better friends. Ones that aren’t insane,” he shot a playful glance to Niall, “Just teasing you a bit, mate.”

“Lovely,” Niall rolled his eyes, but was smiling nonetheless, “Now I have to deal with the both of you riding me about this. It’s not my fault it tastes like cat piss.”

“And you’d know what cat piss tastes like because….” Louis quirked a brow, and Harry folded in on himself, laughing. The way Louis had asked it so easily, so casually was more than Harry could bear. He hugged his arms around his middle and couldn’t help but cackle.

“Alright,” Louis’ smile grew, “One vanilla latte and one….hot chocolate then?”

“That’d be perfect!” Niall sounded impressed.

Louis gave the price and they paid.

“Your drinks will be ready down there.” As Niall headed towards the bar, Louis stopped Harry, “Hey, Harold. Do you happen to know you have dimples when you giggle?”

Harry blushed, feeling the dimple digging in on his cheek, “I’ve been told.”

“Yeah. Well….it’s cute.”

Harry blushed again, “Thanks.”

Louis winked and turned to make their drinks.

Once they had their drinks, Harry led Niall over to his favorite spot in the cafe. When he saw what was waiting for him at the table, he paused in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Niall asked.

“Look,” Harry pointed.

“Nice puzzle.”

“But….but it’s finished.”

“Okay?”

“I left a note. Oh my god….”

“Harry, what the fuck?” Niall walked over to where Harry was standing and peered over his shoulder as Harry read over the note on the napkin.

“I can’t believe this!” Harry gritted, gripping the note so tightly in his hands that it began to crinkle, “I left a note asking that no one finish this puzzle and not only did they finish it, but they had the gall to write back ‘free country, mate’ with a smiley face. What the hell?”

“Harry….what’s going on?” Niall asked, clearly more than a little concerned.

“For the past few times I’ve come here, I’ve always started a puzzle. I get most of it done, but then something comes up. Liam wants to meet for drinks. You almost drown in suds. Gems wants me to babysit. And each time I leave it, I come back to find someone’s finished it. And it just….it’s infuriating. I spend so much time on it and work so hard only for someone to come along and put a few pieces in and finish it. So this last time I left a note. And they had the gall to reply to my note and then finish my puzzle.”

“H….it’s a puzzle.”

“I know that. I do,” Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, “I do, Niall. I know I sound crazy. But you know how much my boss stresses me out. This is a way for me to unwind. It’s something I enjoy. And I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I finish a puzzle. And then to have someone else come along and do it….I can’t explain it.”

“We can put a puzzle together at home if you want?” Niall offered.

Harry softened at that, “That’s sweet, Niall. Really. I just….it makes me mad that someone would see my note and be so….disrespectful? I’m going to ask Louis if he saw who might have done this.”

“What are you going to do?” Niall chuckled, taking a sip of his hot chocolate, “Fight them over a puzzle?”

“I’m going to give them a firm talking-to,” Harry nodded decidedly.

“Terrifying.”

Harry quirked a brow, a small smile tugging on his lips, “You’ve never been on the receiving end of one of my talkings-to.”

“Fair point,” Niall nodded, “Well, I’m going to go.”

“Wait….why?”

“Because,” Niall grinned, “You’re going to talk to your boy and I think that might go better for you if you’re doing it by yourself. Besides, I promised Liam a game of FIFA this afternoon. Good luck, H. With….everything.”

Harry rolled his eyes and read over the note once more before heading back up to the counter. There were no other customers, and it was the perfect time to ask Louis if he might have seen who’d finished the puzzle. And had left the rude note.

“Hey, Curly,” Louis grinned, seeing Harry, “Everything okay with your drink?”

“Oh yeah, yeah it’s great Louis. As always. Um, I actually have a question.”

“Shoot,” Louis tossed the dishtowel he was wiping his hands with to the side.

Harry slid the note across the counter and Louis’ eyes widened when he saw it, just briefly, before he cleared his throat and schooled his expression blank.

“What’s this?”

“That’s what I’m asking you. Every time I’ve come in here lately and have started a puzzle, someone always finishes it. And last night I left a note asking people to please not finish my puzzle, and I come in today and find it finished, and with this added to my note. And I just want to know if you’ve seen the arsehole who left it because I’d like to talk to them.”

“A-arsehole?” Louis’ brows shot up.

“Yes! This note is rude, frankly. And I just simply politely asked that people refrain from touching my puzzle. And not only did they finish it, but they felt like adding that to the note - as if what they had done wasn’t disrespectful enough. Like honestly, what kind of person….”

“Mate, it’s a puzzle.”

“It’s more than a puzzle!” Harry snapped, eyes widening when he saw the crumbling expression on Louis’ face, “It’s more than a puzzle,” Harry repeated, softer this time.

“Yeah, well,” Louis’ expression was colder now, stone and ice, “Maybe not be a dickhead about your puzzles and people wouldn’t feel compelled to mess with you over it.”

“Dickhead? You think _I’m_ the dickhead in this situation?”

“Oh babe,” Louis folded his arms over his chest, “I don’t think it, I know it.”

“That’s rich,” Harry scoffed.

“If you’re done throwing a temper tantrum, I’d really like to get back to my job now.”

Harry’s mouth fell open, and he so badly wanted to say something more, but Louis turned his back on him and that was that. Harry headed towards the door, glancing once more back to Louis who was still facing away from him. Harry crumbled. He opened the door and headed out into the cold.

Louis had been right. He’d been a proper dickhead about things. And it was just a puzzle, for Chris’s sakes. It was so trivial, and yet Harry had done exactly what Louis had accused him of - he’d thrown a temper tantrum. His cheeks burned, and not just from the stinging cold wind. He didn’t even know Louis, but he’d liked him and he’d so badly wanted to get to know him. And now he’d gone and wrecked any chances of that. He’d been such an arse to him, and had yelled at him and Harry was certain Louis would never want to see him again. But something gnawed inside him, telling him to fix this - to make things right.

When he got back to their flat, Harry set about his plan. He found some construction paper in Niall’s desk as well as some markers. He sat down at the coffee table and went to work. In big block letters, Harry wrote the words he wanted to say before taking a pair of scissors and cutting the paper into many little pieces. Once he was finished, he put the pieces in a baggie and headed back to the cafe. He had an apology to make.

As Harry entered the cafe, the little bell above the door tinkled. Louis glanced up and when he saw Harry, he folded his arms over his chest and clearly tried to look cold, but Harry saw the twitch in his jaw and prayed that his plan would work.

“Hi,” Harry said.

“Hi,” Louis wet his lips, “What do you need, Harry?”

Harry set the baggie on the counter, “I want you to make this puzzle with me.”

“What?”

“I want you to make this puzzle with me, Louis. Please?”

“I’m at work, Harry.”

“And work closes in five minutes.”

Louis opened his mouth to protest, but Harry interrupted, “And there’s no one in now. Just….just come sit with me and put together this puzzle with me. Please, Louis?”

Louis glanced away, trying to school his expression before saying, “Fine. But this better not take long.”

“It won’t. Promise.”

They sat at a table by the entrance, and Harry dumped the pieces of paper out onto the table.

“What is this?” Louis asked, picking one up and rubbing it between his thumb and index finger.

“A puzzle piece. A shitty puzzle piece, actually,” Harry winced, “But it’s all I could do with what I had.”

A soft smile crossed Louis’ face, “Alright, Curly. You’ve got my interest.”

They set about slotting the pieces together and after a moment of silence, Harry said, “They’re more than just puzzles to me. I have a job I don’t really like, like at all. I mean, I like the job itself. But the woman I work with is kind of a nightmare and it’s so stressful. And I just moved here to be closer to my sister and her new baby and I feel a little lost sometimes. I mean, I have Niall and Liam - my best mates from uni. But I haven’t met anyone else really. I’m just under a lot of stress and puzzles help me unwind. I like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I complete one. And then someone kept doing it for me and then left that note and I maybe sort of snapped.”

“Snapped is an understatement,” Louis smirked, slotting another piece together, “I’ve got six younger siblings and I haven’t seen a temper tantrum like that probably since it was me throwing one,” he glanced up at Harry and winced slightly, “Sometimes I was a bit of a handful.”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek, “Why does that not surprise me?”

“Hey. At least I’m not a grown man throwing a temper tantrum over puzzles.”

Harry winced slightly, “True.”

“So tell me about this job. What makes it so miserable?”

“You’ll laugh.”

“I will not. Now what job is it that has you so stressed? Lawyer? Surgeon? Hmm….not surgeon. I don’t think you’ve got the constitution for blood and stuff.”

“You’re right,” Harry chuckled before blushing and answering, “I work in a library.”

“ _What?_ ” Louis looked up, disbelief written all over his face.

“I’m….I’m a librarian.”

“No way!” Louis cackled before coughing and sobering, “Alright. I’ll bite. What’s so stressful about that?”

“The lady I work with,” Harry winced, “She’s a bit of a nightmare. I have to answer to her and she’s just always finding things that are wrong with what I do. If I stack the books too quickly, I’m not being careful. If I do it too slowly, I’m wasting time. I’m always on edge around her and it just sucks because normally I’m really good around old ladies but with Eglantine I just am a mess!”

“Hold up,” Louis leaned back in his chair, “Let me get this straight. You’re terrified of an old lady named _Eglantine?_ ”

“Shut up,” Harry kicked him under the table, trying not to giggle along with him, “You’d be scared of her too if you met her! She’s got this cane and I’m honest to God scared she’ll just up and smack me with it one day.”

“Well Harold, maybe if you’d stack the books at a nice even pace….”

“Shut up!” Harry lost it, giggling into his hands as Louis smirked at him from across the table.

“C’mon,” Louis kicked him in the shin, “Let’s finish this puzzle then. If it’s _so_ cathartic to you after being traumatized by terrifying little old ladies named Eglantine.”

“Three pieces left to go. You finish it.”

“You sure? You aren’t going to go all cuckoo for cocoa pops on me if I finish it?”

“Nah,” Harry leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest, “Want you to finish it.”

“Okay,” Louis slotted the three remaining pieces together before reading the message out loud, “‘I am a dickhead. Dinner on me? Heart, Curly.’”

“What do you say?” Harry winced, bracing himself for rejection.

“Well….” Louis drummed his fingers against the puzzle, “If we’re being open and honest here, I have an apology to make too.”

“Oh?”

“I was the one who finished your puzzles.”

“What?” 

“Yeah,” Louis tugged at his fringe, “I um….I thought you were cute. But you’d always come in looking so stressed and tense and I just never saw it as the right time to strike up a conversation. So after you’d leave, after my shift, I’d go and finish your puzzle for you. And you left that note, and it wasn’t a dickhead move, Harry. Not really. I just thought if I did it, you’d maybe talk to me.”

“It got me talking to you alright,” Harry winced, “I’m so sorry, Louis. I never should have yelled at you like I did.”

“Well, yeah,” a small smile tugged at Louis’ lip, “But if you buy me that dinner, I might be more keen on forgiving you.”

“That so?”

“That so.”

Harry waited at the front of the shop while Louis closed up before they headed to the diner a few blocks over. They fell into step comfortably together, and when Louis’ gloved hand slid into Harry’s, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“Hey, Curly?”

“Yeah, Lou?”

“Next time you’re stressed out, maybe you can start up a puzzle for us and once I close up, we could finish it together?”

“That sounds lovely, Louis,” Harry said earnestly.

“If that’s okay with you. I mean, I know how particular you get over your puzzles, especially since they’re so healing for you after a hard day at the library with Eglantine.”

Harry shoved at him.

“You know,” Louis glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye, “There’s other ways I could help you destress, too. Ways that I can _guarantee_ you’ll finish what you start.”

“Oi, one step at a time, angel,” Harry grabbed Louis’ hand back into his own, pressing a kiss to the gloved knuckles, “One step at a time.”

“You implying what I think you’re implying there, Curly?” Harry noticed the blush on Louis’ cheeks.

“Possibly,” Harry smirked, thankful to have the upperhand

“And what would Eglantine say!”

Harry smacked him.

There was a good chance he could fall in love with this boy.

Hell, he was halfway there. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> My thoughts and prayers are with Louis and his family, as well as with all of you. I know Jay touched so many lives and the world lost an amazing woman, but heaven gained an angel. And I know she'll be with Louis always.


End file.
